THE REIGN OF TERROR IN THE FRENCH REVOLUTION 1793 TO 1794

Added: 2026-05-13

[00:00:01]Good afternoon everybody. A level students everywhere in the world. I'm Mr. Willis Wanderer. I'm taking you in the French Revolution. Today to look at the reign of terror during the French Revolution that is from 1793 to 1794.

[00:00:20]This is the most violent. This is the radical phase of the French Revolution.

[00:00:27]This was the time when historian says the revolution kills its own children because almost everybody including Max Millian Rob Pier the mastermind of the reign of terror himself will be killed during this particular uh period. We want to examine what was the reign of terror what were the reasons for the reign of terror and what were the consequences uh for the reign of terror.

[00:00:54]It's very important to remember this was a time of mass excusions. Around 20,000 people uh perished during this particular time. We are calling the reign of terror. It's very important.

[00:01:09]The reasons for the reign of terror are quite a number. uh one of the things that was there is that uh there was the fear of counterrevolution in France at that particular time inside France itself a lot of people were opposing the revolution uh in places where Catholic was very strong you're talking about places like Vendi places like Leon places like Tulon uh those were areas where people were fighting against the revolutions. We have uh the clergy who are opposed to the civil constitution of the clergy. Many of them were against the revolution. They were countering the revolution. We have the immigrants who have run away from France at this particular time. They were also fighting uh the revolution at this particular time. So we have internal enemies in France at this particular time. We also have external enemies. We remember uh Austria and Prussia who gang together to form the first collusion and they fought against France. The second collusion which included Netherlands among other countries, Belgium, they got together to fight to fight the revolution. So uh it is at this particular time uh that uh the revolution faces steep competition from the outside. Uh so uh Max William Robispier says let terror be the order of the day at this particular time just to ensure that the revolution survives at this particular time and we are going to witness great violence during this reign of terror. Max Millian Robbie Pier uh will prosecute uh Louis the 16th Louis the 16th is going to be guillotined in January. uh 1793.

[00:03:20]Uh very important to remember he's going to be accused of treason. One of the victims of the reign of Tira at this particular time. His wife Maria Antonate will also perished in October during this reign of Tra. reign of terror will also witness perhaps uh dating back to the September massacres where inmates were killed because of the rumors that were going around in France at that particular time uh saying that uh the inmates will support the counterrevolutionaries at that particular time and a lot of people were killed uh in that particular time even in Vendi itself we're going to have a lot of people uh uh being killed at this particular time and we will witness a quite a massacre at that particular time. The reign of terror uh dominated by the Jacobin clubs. The Jacobin club which was the most radical uh of all the clubs that were formed at this particular time and there were uh people who are supporting for the republic at this particular time. So the Jaccoin club will dominate uh the reign of Tira until when Maxmillian Robbies himself is going to be executed in July 1794. So the Jacobi club will be there at that particular time uh to ensure that the revolution survives. We are going to have the committee of public safety uh being formed at this particular time. The committee of public safety had uh four 12 people and Max Millia Robisp was in charge of that. It was the executive body that then was in charge of running the operations uh of the government at that particular time.

[00:05:18]So uh the the committee of public uh safety, the committee of general security will also play an important role in trying perhaps to ensure there was security uh surveillance committees were formed uh to ensure that they monitor the activities of the people in France at this particular time. So it's going to be a very important organ the two of them the committee of public safety and the committee of general security ensuring that the revolution survives at this particular time the two of them are going to work but perhaps uh to ensure that uh everything was legally done we're going to have several laws uh being passed at this particular uh time.

[00:06:07]the law of suspects which was one of the uh most notorious laws. Uh it stated that if you are not committed to the revolution you will be executed in France at that particular time. So thousands of people uh were taken to the revolutionary tribunal and the revolutionary tribunal was the court that charged these people under the law of suspects that if you are deemed to be lukewarm at the revolution uh then you will be uh uh guillotined in France. The guillotin uh became the order of the day. people will go and watch others being guiltined in in France at this particular time. So the law of suspects uh that was one uh of the laws uh that was very very bad. We are we're going to have the law of maxima the law of maxima uh controlling the prices uh ensuring that people did not hold uh the basic essentials uh in France at this particular time. uh those were some of the laws uh that were uh passed at this particular uh time to ensure that the revolution uh survives. At this particular time we are also going to have the religious terror uh decristianization organized to ensure that the Catholic Church perhaps is abolished. uh we have a new uh religion, the cult of reason and uh the god being worshiped is the supreme uh god uh at this particular time the calendar changes they're going to abolish uh those uh religious festivals uh all those ceremonies uh Christian will hold at that particular time uh targeting uh the church at this particular time uh very important to remember that the charge was not spared uh during this particular time. Uh very essential uh perhaps to remember a very very bad moment uh in the history uh of the French revolution or the civil liberties of the citizens are going to be quashed at this particular time to ensure that no citizen enjoys his freedom at this particular time. So we going to have all these things happening uh in France at at this particular time and uh the religious terror affected the society. all the powers of the church are going to be uh taken away h at this particular uh time and uh France is at war with other uh countries and uh everybody is fighting to ensure that the French uh survive at this particular time the time we are calling uh the reign of terror uh people like Danton are going to also be killed because it was perceived that Girodin's were lukewarm uh towards the French Revolution. John Jin Marat the journalist uh editing the friends of the people will also be killed uh during this particular time. Uh very important uh to remember some of those great personalities will perish uh during this particular time. We are calling uh the reign of Tira where bloodshed was the norm in France at this particular time.

[00:09:44]The revolution has gone out of proportion. Uh the revolutionaries had not even anticipated that this would occur during the French revolution. A very critical phase. Uh just uh when the revolution has reached its peak, the revolution has reached its apex in France at this particular time. the momentum is so high that everybody uh is facing a lot of bloodshed uh in France at this particular time. So the revolution kills its own children. The revolution kills its own children. There's a lot of paranoia. There's a lot of fear in France. uh everybody suspecting the neighbor the neighbors could uh perhaps accuse the others of being lukewarm towards the revolution and you'll be taken to the revolutionary tribunal and you'll be charged at this particular time in France. So everybody is fearful.

[00:10:45]Great fear just like in the beginning there was the grand the great fear now also comes in uh during this particular time we are calling uh the reign of terror the powers uh of the committee of public safety uh so much uh just like during the time of Louis the 16 when we had absolute uh monarch in France. So this is the time that the revolution uh goes beyond uh the imagination of even the revolutionaries. Uh reaching at the AEX uh then Maxmillian Robispiel uh would then be killed and the reign of Tira will end after July 1794 when he was killed. Uh people in the national convention knew they were the next target. So they outsmarted uh Maxmillian Robbies Pierre and had him killed. And after that we have the thermodyarians are coming in. The te thermodyarians who restored order at that particular time in France and uh the reign of terror ends and then we have the directory that brought uh stability in France. So you talk about the reign of terror, you're talking about uh the people like Maxmillian Robbies Pierre uh playing a very very important role prosecuting uh Louis the 16th until Louis the 16th then had to be killed at this particular time. So Rob plays a very important role uh during this particular time. we are calling uh the reign of terror ending on July 28th particularly to be specific 1794 uh when he's going to be guillotin and uh that marks the reign of terror so the most rivaling part of the French revolution uh was the reign uh of tira uh today we finish our lessons there on the reign of terror good day good revision I see you in the next uh lesson song.